A former competitive speed skater from New York became an unlikely player in the crucial last few weeks of this year’s Arizona legislative session.

The legislative session wasn’t even done before lawmakers started announcing bills they planned to introduce next session.

Even after settling on a multi-billion spending plan for the next year, there was plenty left unsettled when lawmakers went home for the summer.

The state House of Representatives is notoriously cantankerous, but this legislative session was more confrontational than anyone remembers. Some felt it more than others, but the consensus is the 2019 legislative session was different.

David Bradley, D-Tucson, started his first year as minority leader determined to be the last Democrat to hold that post. By the end of what Bradley described as an “intriguing” session, Senate Democrats came closer to negotiating the state budget than they have in years.

Two moderate Republican senators handed Cathi Herrod’s Center for Arizona Policy a last-minute loss late May 27, killing a late-breaking anti-abortion bill in a rare defeat for the influential conservative policy organization.

The partnership that defined the end of the 2019 legislative session began May 7.

Sine die watch is finally over after the Senate approved an $11.8 billion budget on Memorial Day

Calling it a "significant and critical first step,'' Gov Doug Ducey has signed into law a measure that will give those who were sexually assaulted or abused as children more time to sue, no matter how long ago the event occurred.

Three days after the House approved an $11.8 billion spending plan negotiated with Gov. Doug Ducey, the Senate caught up and approved it, too.